Adam MacVicar spoke with us regarding his work reporting on the Humboldt Broncos bus crash for Global News Saskatoon, and what it was like for him as one of the first on the scene. This interview marked the first time MacVicar spoke on the record about his experience at the scene and the process of engaging the community following the crash.
"When you first get to the scene, separating it wasn't hard because obviously, we had to get something on camera. We had to send it back--we were getting phone calls from our news director: we have to do something. So it was immediately focused on the work. Then when we drove into town, that's when it was starting to get a little--we realized this is definitely probably one of the worst crashes that's ever happened in the history of this province," said MacVicar.
The crash claimed the lives of 16 and injured 13 others. It is recognized as a national tragedy. MacVicar was called to report on it as he made dinner but said that the reality of the situation started to set in as soon as they entered town.
"It was cold. It was very cold. It was probably like minus thirty-five, the wind was howling, it was pitch-black, and you could see the cherries on top of the emergency vehicles. You could see just hundreds of them down the street."
Adam graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2015 and entered the industry in April of that year. His career began at a Country music radio station in Le Duc Alberta as an anchor and reporter in the news department. Afterward, he moved on to a TV job in Lloydminster for around a year, then transferred to Global Saskatoon.
"In the general grand scheme of things you can, you typically on a regular day you cover a shooting, and then you can just... Put it in the back that you know, someone may have died, but this whole thing was much different. It related to everybody across Canada, right? That played on a hockey team, or had a buddy that played on a hockey team."
It was cold. It was very cold.The crash was South of Nipawin Saskatchewan on April 6, 2018, near 5:00 pm, and MacVicar was sent from his post in Saskatoon. Adam went with a shooter and was among the initial group to have arrived on the scene beyond first-responders.
"When you first get to the scene, separating it wasn't hard because obviously, we had to get something on camera. We had to send it back--we were getting phone calls from our news director: we have to do something. So it was immediately focused on the work. Then when we drove into town, that's when it was starting to get a little--we realized this is definitely probably one of the worst crashes that's ever happened in the history of this province," said MacVicar.
The crash claimed the lives of 16 and injured 13 others. It is recognized as a national tragedy. MacVicar was called to report on it as he made dinner but said that the reality of the situation started to set in as soon as they entered town.
"It was cold. It was very cold. It was probably like minus thirty-five, the wind was howling, it was pitch-black, and you could see the cherries on top of the emergency vehicles. You could see just hundreds of them down the street."
Adam graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2015 and entered the industry in April of that year. His career began at a Country music radio station in Le Duc Alberta as an anchor and reporter in the news department. Afterward, he moved on to a TV job in Lloydminster for around a year, then transferred to Global Saskatoon.
"In the general grand scheme of things you can, you typically on a regular day you cover a shooting, and then you can just... Put it in the back that you know, someone may have died, but this whole thing was much different. It related to everybody across Canada, right? That played on a hockey team, or had a buddy that played on a hockey team."
Today, Adam works at Global News Calgary covering everything from civil politics to crime. Reporters in the industry are regularly exposed to traumatic events and stories like the Humboldt bus crash are difficult to shake.
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